Yearly Review: Five Questions to Ask as You Release 2020
Ready for your yearly review?
2020 Be Gone.
I think that could be a mantra.
For some of us saying goodbye to this year couldn’t come fast enough.
Even if 2020 brought you blessings, the sheer complication of what we all had to deal with…well let’s just say we are good with being done.
But before we release too quickly…we also need to harvest what we’ve learned from all these experiences. And it isn’t just the negative – we also need to learn from the positive experiences.
And now is a prime time to do this sort of reflection – between the full moon and winter solstice.
We’ve even created a masterclass so that we can do it together – come join us!
THE 2021 RESET
Build Your Plan to Simplify, Create More Free Time + Money & Release 2020 for Good
December 16 or 17th
Between now and the masterclass – here are some suggested questions to help you get started.
Monthly Review (20 minutes)
You are going to take a few minutes to review each month of this year in writing. Start by writing about last January. What trips did you take? (remember when we could travel?) What were the big events that happened that month? Were there any emotional highs or lows? What breakthrough insights happened that month? Then continue writing about each month. Write fast and don’t over-evaluate.
This isn’t about writing out everything that happened that month. It’s just writing the big picture of important events that happened that month. Take about 15 minutes to write the months and the events.
This is incredibly important given the pandemic. As we come to the end of the year, so many entrepreneurs are beating themselves up for not hitting goals. But the truth is that for March-June of this year – the pandemic had most of us gasping for breath! It’s totally normal if you feel like you are still catching up from those months. It’s important to recognize what happened and write about it.
Then go back and circle the major insights or learnings from the year.
When I did this exercise I had some major learnings: like in June when I did my first virtual events and they were a huge success!…to more simple learnings: like in April when I had 3 zoom calls on my birthday – and spoke to people I hadn’t seen in years! It made me realize how important it is to call those I love.
These are the types of learnings that I will use to create an even better plan for my next year.
Yearly Review (20 minutes)
Next, you’ll look at this past year as a whole. Again, don’t spend too much time on each question – about 4 minutes each. Write fast and don’t think about it too much. I’ve given you some examples and further questions under each question, but feel free to answer these questions in the best way for you. There’s no right or wrong.
What parts of your business did you find the most joy from this year?
Did you love working with clients? Creating products? Writing? What parts did you find that you didn’t have to force yourself to sit down and do? What did you look forward to doing?
What did you avoid doing in your business this year?
Were you afraid to look at your plan after the pandemic hit? Did you avoid your numbers? Perhaps you avoided asking for help. Or having tough conversations with your team?
What do you wish you had done more of in your business?
Could you have done more virtual talks? Done more videos? Asked for more referrals from your clients? Done more sales conversations? Written more newsletters? Remember, don’t go crazy here – just write for a few minutes on the top ones that come to mind and move on. Trust that the most important ones will come up first.
What do you wish you had done differently in your business?
Maybe you tried to do too much when the pandemic hit. Or too little. Perhaps you did a webinar but didn’t prepare enough for it. Maybe you did an event but you didn’t spend enough time marketing it. Perhaps you signed up for a course but didn’t take the time to go through the materials. Perhaps you weren’t consistent with sending newsletters or putting up videos.
What do you think you could do better next year?
Take a few minutes and read through your answers above. Then go ahead and write about what could be improved for the coming year. Again, don’t go too crazy with this one – the point is to come up with 3-5 solid changes that you want to make for your upcoming year.
4 New Actions (5 minutes)
Read through what you wrote, especially the answer to the question above. Now write 4 new actions, behaviors, beliefs or habits that you want to carry into the next 12 months.
What I love about this sort of analysis is that it’s not based on criticism or wishful thinking. It’s based on your reality – and this is such an important aspect of strategic planning for entrepreneurs.
Every year that I sit and answer these questions I’m blown away by the patterns and insights that the year has brought me. As I move into planning my next year, my resolutions and goals become so much more clear and realistic.
Enjoy your reflection and leave me a comment below or head on over to our Facebook group and tell us what you’ve noticed.
PS: Just in case you’ve missed it – there’s a brand new free Masterclass coming up next week – don’t forget to join us so that we can do this together!
THE 2021 RESET
Build Your Plan to Simplify, Create More Free Time + Money & Release 2020 for Good
December 16 or 17th
